In this Issue:
Introduction
Why no one can agree…
What is a plot?
A note about character
Who is your main character?
Why it can be harder than you think to decide
Your story structure
Stress test your plot
Next time
What is an act? How many do you need?
Narrative structure. Should you tell the story chronologically?
Value changes within a scene
Introduction
Ah! Now we’re getting to the nitty gritty. Plot and story. It’s a thorny subject, but one that any aspiring writer of fiction will have to get their head around at some point. But there’s help there, after all it’s been tackled time and time again, and there are hundreds of books and thousands of webpages that deal (at least in part) with story structure. It should be easy, right?
But (of course) it isn’t. Not everyone agrees. Some people argue there are only seven basic plots, others will say there are thirty-six. Some argue strongly that every (successful) story has three acts, others will argue four, and some are adamant that five is the golden number. Some people will say character is king and plot unimportant, while others will take the opposite view. People will break down the story structure of a huge Hollywood blockbuster and then try to apply the same ‘rules’ to an arthouse movie. Take even a cursory look at a few of these expert analyses and you’ll see different people using different terminology when describing the same thing. There isn’t even any real agreement on what a ‘plot’ is, and how it differs from a ‘story’ or a ‘narrative’. It can be confusing, to say the least.
So, in this issue of The Writers’ Lodge, I’m going to try to give you some jargon-free pointers that will at least give you a boost when trying to look at the plot and structure of your own work.
What is a plot?
Allow me to share the very first story I ever wrote, when I was at primary school...
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